When somebody yells that they’re going out, it’s over. For a split second, nobody budges. Then, well … chaos follows. Hands is slapped onto the table. Cards are neatly stacked in piles. Everybody debates who has what, their voices getting louder with every argument or victory. Suddenly, 500 Rummy is no longer about luck and … Read more

The problem is that most board game evenings end with a mad dash to count your points accurately. Hey, there are only five minutes left. There goes the park deck. Oh no, I forgot about those 10 points in my back pocket. What should of be a climactic moment of strategy becomes instead a bureaucratic … Read more

Arboretum looks like it has a promising hand, but this is a game of risk and hidden information. The goal are to win by having the rights to score particular types of tree. Having the longest path doesn’t matter if your opponent also have more cards in that suit. And rules for which one scores … Read more

At this point you’ve constructed a tower that’s four stones tall. It’s stable, well-positioned, and poised to net six points in the fourth slot. But looking down at the board, you notice that its color matches is weak. Your cleanup options is also poor. Mandala Stones turns into a game of resource management with the … Read more

Endgame Scoring is a form of math that makes a person uneasy. At least, it does when you’re playing Trekking the National Parks. It’s like you’ve set out your tent, rounded up your stones, earned your park cards; but now the numbers is squishy. Did I count those victory points right? Was I supposed to … Read more

Until it’s time to score, that is. And it can look deceptively simple. You claim mountains, race toward full-color glory, and fill your River slot by slot. And then that sixth color locks into place, and the deck runs out. Oh oh, here you go. A stack of secret Cup cards stares you down, and … Read more

Jaipur forces you to monitor not just state of market but also what other players are doing. As each player buys and sells token, you’re watching them exit the supply board while attempting to guess what they’re hiding. It adds a sense of tension above and beyond the math. At the end of a round, … Read more